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Identifying gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) foraging grounds along the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia, using satellite telemetry

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate summer and fall residency and habitat selection by gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, together with the biomass of benthic amphipod prey on the coastal feeding grounds along the Chukotka Peninsula. Thirteen gray whales were instrumented with satellite transmitters in September 2006 near the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. Nine transmitters provided positions from whales for up to 81 days. The whales travelled within 5 km of the Chukotka coast for most of the period they were tracked with only occasional movements offshore. The average daily travel speeds were 23 km day−1 (range 9–53 km day−1). Four of the whales had daily average travel speeds <1 km day−1 suggesting strong fidelity to the study area. The area containing 95% of the locations for individual whales during biweekly periods was on average 13,027 km2 (range 7,097–15,896 km2). More than 65% of all locations were in water <30 m, and between 45 and 70% of biweekly kernel home ranges were located in depths between 31 and 50 m. Benthic density of amphipods within the Bering Strait at depths <50 m was on average ~54 g wet wt m−2 in 2006. It is likely that the abundant benthic biomass is more than sufficient forage to support the current gray whale population. The use of satellite telemetry in this study quantifies space use and movement patterns of gray whales along the Chukotka coast and identifies key feeding areas.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the personnel at LGL Limited, Sidney, BC, for their enthusiasm and generous support during the preparation of this field effort. We are especially indebted to Stephen Johnson, Sonya Meier, and Sergei Yazvenko who all put an enormous effort into facilitating this project. A permit to deal with endangered species was issued by Ministry of Natural Resources of Russian Federation (Moscow) after ratifications by the Chukotka Department of Natural Resources, the VNIIpriroda (Moscow)—scientific consulting institute for all endangered species, at the Ichtyological Commission Meeting in Moscow. The permits to use radio frequencies were issued by State Radio Frequency Center (Moscow) after review by the State Frequency Commission (Moscow). The permit to use tags on gray whales was issued by Ministry of Defence (Moscow). Permits to bring tags to Russia and lift custom fees were issued by Russian Customs. Bruce Mate kindly loaned us air guns for the field work. The permit for foreign field participants to come to Chukotka was issued by the military border guard. Benthic samples were collected through grants to J.M. Grebmeier from the US National Science Foundation (e.g., OPP-ARC-045454), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This study was funded by Exxon Mobil and Sakhalin Energy Investment Ltd. through a grant to LGL Limited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Box 570, 3900, Nuuk, Greenland

    M. P. Heide-Jørgensen

  2. Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th Street, Box 355640, Seattle, WA, 98105-6698, USA

    K. L. Laidre

  3. Marine Mammals Laboratory, ChukotTINRO, Box 29, Str. Otke, 56, Anadyr, Chukotka, 689000, Russia

    D. Litovka

  4. Mikkels Vaerksted, Gislingevej 2, 4571, Grevinge, Denmark

    M. Villum Jensen

  5. Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 1 Williams St., PO Box 38, Solomons, MD, USA

    J. M. Grebmeier

  6. Laboratory of Marine Research, Zoological Institute Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    B. I. Sirenko

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  1. M. P. Heide-Jørgensen
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  5. J. M. Grebmeier
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  6. B. I. Sirenko
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Correspondence to M. P. Heide-Jørgensen.

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Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Laidre, K.L., Litovka, D. et al. Identifying gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) foraging grounds along the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia, using satellite telemetry. Polar Biol 35, 1035–1045 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1151-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1151-6

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